BREXIT BLOG – TRAVEL FOR PEOPLE AND PETS

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BREXIT BLOG – TRAVEL FOR PEOPLE AND PETS

Your Tax Shop’s advice on Passport Rules for travel to Europe after Brexit

Here at Your Tax Shop based in Ashton-under-Lyne, we advise that if you are booking any travel, check your passports meet the new rules that apply if the UK leaves the EU without a deal after 29th March 2019.

After the 29th March 2019, you should have at least 6 months left on your passport from your date of arrival. This applies to adult and child passports. If you renewed a passport before it expired, up to 9 extra months may have been added to your new passport’s expiry date. Any extra months on your passport over 10 years may not count towards the 6 months that should be remaining for travel to most countries in Europe.

The new rules will apply to passports issued by the UK, Gibraltar, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

List of countries affected

The new rules will apply for travel to and between countries in the Schengen area. These are:

The rules for taking your pet to any EU country will change if the UK leaves the EU with a no deal and is treated as an unlisted country.

You must get your dog, cat or ferret micro-chipped and then vaccinated against rabies before it can travel.

However, to allow effective contingency planning in the worst-case scenario of the UK not being granted third country status, you’ll need to take the following steps to make sure your pet can travel after 29 March 2019:

– You must get your dog, cat or ferret micro-chipped and then vaccinated against rabies before it can travel. Your pet must have a blood sample taken at least 30 days after the rabies vaccination. You’ll need to talk to your vet about whether you need a rabies vaccination or booster before this test.

– The results of the blood test must show that the vaccination was successful (Your pet must have a rabies antibody level of at least 0.5 IU/ml).

– You must wait 3 months from the date the successful blood sample was taken before you travel.

– You must take your pet to an Official Veterinarian (OV), no more than 10 days before travel to get a health certificate.

If there’s no deal, pet passports issued in the UK would not be valid for travel to the EU.

Returning to the UK

Your pet must have one of the following documents when returning to the UK:

– an existing EU pet passport (both for UK and EU citizens)

– the EU health certificate issued in the UK used to travel to the EU

– a UK pet health certificate (issued outside the UK for travel into the UK only)

Check the routes before you travel. On existing approved routes, your documents and microchip will be checked. If you’re not travelling on an approved route, talk to your vet about what preparations you need to make before travel.

There will be no change to the current requirements for pets entering the UK from the EU after 29th March 2019.